By JESSICA QUINN
A BOOK of condolences opened in the city for Richard Harris shows he was loved by generations of people from Limerick and all over the world.
Alongside signatures of former colleagues and friends are childish scrawls from youngsters who knew him as the lovable Dumbledore from the Harry Potter movies.
One touching tribute read: "From a nine year old girl who fell in love with Albus Dumbledore and her mother who fell in love with King Arthur. Thank you for that 'One Brief Shining Moment'."
Others remembered the actor for his hellraising reputation, with one person writing "Rock On Richard".
Colette Simms was just one of a stream of Limerick people who arrived at Griffin's funeral home to sign the book.
She recalled how on her first week working behind the bar at the Corner Flag, she served Richard Harris her first pint of Guinness.
"He came into the bar for a quick drink because he was supposed to be leaving at three o'clock that day. But he didn't leave until three the following day.
"He was a great storyteller, a great character, he had a great presence and he was a great man," said Colette.
She said that she believed he should have been honoured in his home town while he was still alive.
"He should have been given the freedom of the city years ago," she said.
Since the book of condolences was opened at Griffin's, there has been a steady flow of visitors to pay their respects to the actor.
The book of condolences can be signed anytime between 9am and 5.30pm at Griffin's funeral home, Lower Gerald Griffin Street.
One of the first people to sign the book was Mayor John Cronin.
"I am delighted that the people of Limerick have got a chance to mourn this great Limerick man. I would encourage the people of Limerick to sign the book to show what Richard Harris meant to Limerick," he said.
Ger Griffin of Griffin's explained why they decided to open the book.
"We wanted to give the people of Limerick the opportunity to express their sympathy to the Harris family," he said.
Meanwhile, details of a Limerick memorial service for the actor are expected to be finalised after a private family ceremony in London on Monday.
Harris gets actor award
RICHARD Harris has been honoured with an outstanding achievement film award just days after his death last Friday.
Mr Harris 72 was awarded the special prize for his Outstanding Contribution by an Actor at the British Independent Film Awards this Wednesday evening.
His sons Damian, Jared and Jamie collected the award on his behalf.
Mr Harris had also been nominated for best actor for his role as a gangland boss in the drama My Kingdom.
The nomination was announced shortly after his death.
This was one of his last roles, playing Sandemann in this reworking of Shakespeare's King Lear.
However, he was pipped by actor James Nesbitt for his portrayal of a march organiser in Bloody Sunday.
The growing pains of two Limerick titans
ONE of the most colourful incidents in Richard Harris's incredible life came when the actor crossed swords with controversial Limerickman Frank McCourt.
In January 2000, both admitted to the Limerick Leader that they had had a pub fight, though their memories of the incident were somewhat at variance.
Pulitzer Prize winning author Frank McCourt confirmed that he had struck Mr Harris in a New York pub after the actor had "provoked" him.
"He provoked me. But we reconciled a long time ago," Mr McCourt said. And that might have been that. But Mr Harris had other ideas.
Harris told how he was with Frank and Malachy McCourt and discussing Limerick in the pub, and claimed that Frank McCourt had been derogatory and derisive in his attitude and remarks about Limerick.
"I was in discussion about Limerick to Malachy when Frank raised his fist and hit me a terrible belt on the nose. Like a hare running from a hound he raced towards the exit door and ran out of the pub," he claimed.
"I have never yet been confronted by a Limerickman who ran way from a fight. We don't do that in Limerick we stand our ground and we fight. To run from a fight is not part of the Limerick character at all," Harris added.
Frank McCourt was puzzled at the outburst by the actor: "What is he bringing it all up for now?" he asked in an interview with the Limerick Leader.
Speaking from the New York, Frank McCourt strongly denied claims by Harris that he and his brother Malachy lost their mother's ashes when bringing them to Ireland.
"That is not true. We brought the ashes and spread them in Mungret graveyard," said Frank McCourt.
He said that they were accompanied by friends and relatives when they spread her ashes at the historic cemetery near Mungret village.
McCourt was annoyed to hear of other comments made by the Limerick actor in an interview with RLO radio's Gerry Hannan.
Harris claimed also that the brothers had refused to pay the extra coffin charge when bringing their mother back to Limerick, alleging that the McCourts "decided to cremate their mother and bring her ashes back in their overnight bags".
The actor stated: "Angela was a very devout Catholic and she would not have wanted to be cremated. Being cremated was something that she couldn't countenance at all and she wanted to be buried."
He also alleged that the McCourts lost their mothers ashes and it was a "commonly held opinion amongst the Irish in New York that Angela's Ashes, are in fact, buried away in some far distant remote lost property corner of Kennedy Airport in New York".
Frank McCourt strongly denied the claims, saying that there was no question but that they honoured their mothers wishes and had her ashes brought back to her native Limerick.
"My relationship with Limerick, expect for a few cranks is very warm," he added.
"I always want to go to Limerick and to visit Souths and meet Dave Hickey and the lads and I hope to get there soon to hang out there," he added.
He denied insinuations from Harris that he was not committed to Limerick and expressed his delight that up to one thousand turned up at O'Mahony's for his book launch of 'Tis.
"I don't know if you read the piece in the Irish Times about the economic benefits to Limerick as a result of the book," he said in reference to the tourism boost his novel has brought about in the city.
He also revealed: "Although I have not been bragging about it - that I have helped initiate a new scholarship at the University of Limerick to help students from less well off areas take third level education."
The scholarship will not be the McCourt scholarship but instead be called after the great Irish musician Paddy Clancy.
Family says memorial service in city planned
THE family of Richard Harris have confirmed that there will be a memorial service in Limerick for the actor who died over the weekend.
However, there will be no formal decision on when or where in Limerick the service will be held until after a private family service in London this Monday.
Ivan Harris, brother of the deceased said: "We want to make it clear that there will be a service open to the public in Limerick.
"There will be nothing decided before next Monday that is the day of our own service in London, the venue of which is not been made public. We will decide then what our next move will be.
"We will decide on where the Limerick service will be held, and where in Dublin, if there is a Dublin service, it will be held. We will decide all of this when we are together as a family."
Meanwhile, a book of condolences has been opened at Griffin's funeral home. One of the first people to sign the book was Mayor John Cronin.
Mayor Cronin said that he was delighted to read in yesterday's Limerick Leader that Richard Harris would be remembered at a memorial service in the city.
"I am delighted that the people of Limerick will get a chance to mourn this great Limerick man.
"I would also encourage the people of Limerick to sign the book to show what Richard Harris meant to Limerick," he said.
The book of condolences can be signed anytime between 9am and 5.30pm at Griffin's funeral home, Lower Gerald Griffin Street.
It was also confirmed during the week that moves were afoot in Limerick City to make Richard Harris a freeman of the city - just before he died.
Ironically it was because he felt he was snubbed by his native Limerick that many believe that the great actor's ashes will be scattered in the Bahamas rather than in his native city.
"It was discussed among us in Fianna Fail and I am convinced he would have been made a Freeman during the lifetime of this Council," said councillor Jack Bourke, a good friend of the 72 year-old actor.
Councillor Bourke like numerous callers to the Limerick Leader was annoyed at reports that there were to be no services in the city for the great actor who was twice nominted for the Oscars.
It was understood that there would be a service in Dublin and London. However, it has now been confirmed that something will happen in Limerick.
"I don't know who it is up to, whether family or church but we must try and organise something here," said Cllr Bourke before the announcement was made of the Limerick service.
Cllr Bourke had the honour of giving Harris his first stage role in the Red Robe at the City Theatre.
The head in yesterday's Sunday Times "Limerick snubbed in Harris's final scene" claimed that the actor would be remembered at memorial services in Dublin and London while his ashes would be sprinkled in the Bahamas.
Earlier some media had reported that he would be buried at Mt St Lawrence cemetery in Limerick.
However, this has been denied by the family.
In the article the actors brother Noel who lives in Dublin said that there was some resentment among members of the Harris family that Limerick never officially honoured its most famous son.
"I am very disappointed with my city. I can't imagine anyone who deserved it more than he did. He has done more than any Irish actor ever did. I know that the people of Limerick have thought about honouring him.
For the past 10 years Harris lived in a £6000 a week suite at the Savoy Hotel.
He loved coming home to Limerick and at Christmas regularly stayed at Dromoland Castle where he threw parties for friends and family.
Supporting Munster rugby was also a big passion in his life and a visit to Charlie St George's pub in Parnell Street was always on his itinerary.
While acknowledged as one of the great actors of his time, Harris's main passion was for rugby. He played at Crescent College and later with Garryowen, but then became a big Young Munster fan.
He was born in Limerick 72 years ago and died in a London hospital after it was confirmed just two weeks ago that he had been suffering from cancer.
He starred in many classic films including A Man called Horse; The Guns of Navarone and Mutiny and the Bounty.
In latter years he got rave reviews for his role in the Harry Potter film and was shooting the second in the series when he took ill.
Reports from London say that Harris wants to be cremated in his Munster junior rugby jersey. He won a city cup medal, under 20 with Old Crescent. He later played for Garryowen. He won a Munster Senior cup medal with the light blues - though he did not play in the final.
He went on to become a staunch supporter of Young Munster and made a substantial financial contribution to the the club.
Secret city tour turned into unforgettable day
By DERMOT WALSHE
UNDER cover of darkness and with only one other for company, superstar Dickie Harris made a secret tour of his boyhood haunts when he returned in triumph to his native Limerick in 1990.
It was a glory year for Richard Harris, but the rugby star turned film star gave his hometown and Young Munster the top billing when he put 1990 in his own words in an article for The Irish Times the following year.
"Last year was a great one for me, winning the Evening Standard award for the best performance in the English theatre for Pirandello's Henry IV; getting a Golden Globe nomination for Jim Sheridan's The Field and above and beyond all of that, finally being made a lifetime member of the Young Munster Football Club".
"Getting life membership of Young Munster was the carrot that lured him back" confesses Gerry Lowe whose tenacity as Director of the Treaty 300 year of special events and celebrations paid off not only with the hometown comeback of the screen star but also by being with Harris throughout that unforgettable day.
Gerry Lowe had tried all his wiles to lure Harris home. Letters, faxes and phone calls went out in their dozens from the Treaty 300 office in Shannon Street. "It was almost impossible to track him down because he had four home bases - the Regent in New York; the Savoy Hotel in London; his residence in the Bahamas and the Berkeley Court in Dublin when he was in Ireland."
It was only when Lowe went to London where Harris was making a smash hit return to the stage in "Henry IV" and ambushed the star in the Savoy Hotel that Richard Harris admitted that the great ambition of his life was to be a member of Young Munster Rugby Club".
Even when it was all fixed up and a date set, Gerry Lowe was taking no chances. "Just in case he might not make an appearance, I arranged to pick Richard Harris up in Dublin and drive him to Limerick that Saturday" Gerry Lowe recalls. For the big occasion, his own car would not do and Tony O'Mara provided a brand new top of the range Toyota so that Harris could be driven home in style.
The memorable moments and Harris escapades started early, as did Gerry Lowe with a 6 o'clock in the morning start from Caherdavin to pick up his star prize at the Berkeley Court Hotel at 9 a.m.
"When I arrived at the suite, Harris was with his brother-in-law Jackie Donnelly and I was invited to have breakfast while Richard had a shower. But after the shower, he told Jackie that he had no toilet bag for his toiletries. So Jackie suggested that they ring down to the hotel shop for a toilet bag. Up came a young porter with a carrier bag from the shop and in it a selection of toilet bags. Harris picked out each one and asked the prices. The porter listed off £45, £60 and £70 for the range of Gucci bags. Winking over at me and Jackie, Harris stunned the porter by taking the carrier bag and sending back the expensive toilet bags."
On the road to Limerick, Gerry Lowe admits that for once he in his life he ran short of words and conversation was a little forced. "Until we saw a young woman hitching a lift in Portlaoise" Gerry Lowe recalls. "Pull over," said Harris and the young woman from Castleconnell was explaining where she was headed for before she realised who she was getting into the car with. Her daydream day would be made on the double in Nenagh when Harris ordered another stop and then stepped into the nearest fast food outlet to take out three fish and chips, chicken and 3 Coca Colas.
They made it to Greenfields with less than an hour before kick off, and Richard Harris was lionised, celebrated and almost immortalised as Young Munster welcomed him into their fold and their inner sanctums. He was presented with life membership and a club tie and given the place of honour in Tom Clifford's chair at the window to watch the game. But that was too much for the showman in Richard Harris who could not resist stepping out among the rugby crowd where he was mobbed. "Everything went just right except the result of the game" Gerry Lowe remembers as Young Munster went down to a shock defeat by Greystones.
Amid the post-match revelry, it was time Richard Harris who had been off the booze for a decade to make an early exit. Gerry Lowe thought he was simply taking Dickie Harris back to Jurys Hotel but instead found himself acting as escort in a tour through the boyhood and growing up years of the movie star.
"He first asked to be taken to Cruise's Hotel which was in its final year before being replaced by the Cruise's Street development. He even peeked into the hotel where he was recognised immediately by one of the staff and it turned out that Harris knew her mother. Then he asked to go up past his old Crescent College school and when we reached there he decided to go into the Jesuit church. The church was empty, so we knelt in the front pews to say a prayer and Harris looked around the names over the confession boxes and saw the name of a priest who was his boyhood confessor".
Gerry Lowe thought they were on the last leg of the journey into the past when they headed for the Ennis Road and Jurys Hotel, but Harris again asked for a detour to his old family home. "When we got there he had a look and then got out and walked up to the door and rang the bell. A woman answered the door and was stunned to see Richard Harris on her doorstep. He explained to the woman and her husband that it had been his home and was invited in. He recognised the changes that had been made, but also familiar things like the fireplace which was still there. The hosts asked if he would like to look over the rest of the house and it was upstairs that he showed us the back bedroom where he used to sleep. He also showed us the galvanise roof that he used to climb onto from his bedroom window and the tree he would shimmy down for clandestine night-time dates with a girl called Sally".
Even then the night was not over. When Gerry Lowe remembered that "The Field" was then playing at the Savoy, he decided to show Richard Harris the refurbished complex. The movie for which Harris got his second Oscar nomination was showing when the star who portrayed "Bull" McCabe and Gerry Lowe slipped into the back seats. But a few rows in front, Ald. Frank Prendergast and his wife Mary recognised Dickie Harris to trigger a further round of nostalgia.
Twenty-four hours after the tour that took Richard Harris through the scenes of his Limerick lifetime to the screen scenes of his latest hit movie, the star guest and Gerry Lowe would return to the Savoy. Harris had gone to the Treaty Stone to record a television commercial promoting the Treaty 300 with the message "tell them Richard Harris sent you" and then got a Treaty Stone of his own. Gerry Lowe presented him with one of the limited editions prints the Treaty Stone from a painting by local artist, Tom Greaney.
Author Denis pays tribute
PAYING tribute to Richard Harris at the launch of his latest book on Limerick, writer Denis O'Shaughnessy said the film star was the greatest defender of Limerick since Sarsfield.
"He loved his roots, and was not averse to telling stories against himself," said Denis.
One such was the time in Thomond Park when playing with junior team Old Crescent, he took on the legendary local St Mary's RFC front row forward Ducky Hayes and like many others, came out the worst.
"If the stand was full of surgeons they couldn't have done anything for my nose I got such a wallop," Harris ruefully stated afterwards.
Carried off, Dickie was treated in the casualty department of the nearby City Home Hospital, and with his face heavily bandaged and the slits of his eyes only visible, sportingly returned to the field of play to be greeted with shouts of derision such as: "'tis the return of the Phantom; no, 'tis the Mummy."
Years afterwards when Richard made his breakthrough in This Sporting Life, the Savoy was filled with rugby fans eager to see their fellow citizen in action.
In the scene where Harris sorts out a belligerent opposing forward a St Mary's follower brought the house down when he shouted: "You wouldn't do it if Ducky Hayes was there!?"
Long live King Richard
By IAIN DEMPSEY
THE first and only time I met Richard Harris was on a brick wall outside the Curraghower Bar in May 2001.
The actor, notorious for his hellraising days, was wearing a long, black overcoat, a pair of dirty runners and ill-fitting baggy trousers, his wild, white mane blowing in the breeze.
In all honesty, he looked like a dishevelled tramp, sitting on the wall downing a pint of Guinness. He looked far from the multi-million dollar movie star he was.
I approached him with some trepidation, my mind full of countless stories - whether true or untrue - about him biting the heads off and bawling out journalists eager for a few words with the great man.
"It depends on what mood he's in," I was told by the news editor Eugene Phelan before I left the office. "He'll either invite you to go drinking with him or he'll tell you get to lost."
Coupled with this, being a big film fan, I was somewhat in awe of talking to the man I had seen on the big screen in so many great films. Plus, anytime I had rang the Savoy Hotel in London for various stories, where Harris lived in a suite, I was always told that the actor was "resting" and was not available.
I approached Richard Harris with the somewhat naove but not unfounded notion that he did not particularly like talking with journalists.
I mumbled meekly to him: "Mr Harris, I'm with the Limerick Leader. I was just hoping to have a few quick words with you if you don't mind."
I waited with baited breath for the tirade of expletives that never came.
"Of course you can young man, sit down and ask me whatever you like," replied Harris.
It was at around 11am on a Thursday morning when we got a call at the Limerick Leader to say that Harris was in town with a film crew and at that moment he was outside the Mechanics' Institute on Harstonge Street.
He was back in his home city for two days, filming a documentary for 60 Minutes, the renowned American television series, visiting famous Limerick landmarks and various old haunts of his.
Myself and photographer Owen South jumped in the car and got there within a minute. Surrounded by cameras, television crewmembers, passers-by and fans, it was impossible to try and grab a word with Harris.
We were told that the next stop was the Curraghower Falls where the television crew could shoot a piece with the Falls and King John's Castle in the background.
We kept our distance as the interview was conducted and as the crew were packing up to go inside the Curraghower Bar for lunch, I approached the man who famously portrayed King Arthur on screen.
Not expecting to be received, I spent around 10 minutes at the court of King Richard. Not a long time I know, but long enough to experience the passion that Harris holds for rugby.
After briefly discussing his movements in Limerick for the CBS documentary, I asked him what he thought of Munster's disappointing loss in controversial circumstances to Stade Francais in the semi-final of the Heineken Cup only two weeks previously.
The man who once played rugby with Garryowen and is Young Munster's most famous fan, launched into a tirade about being "robbed" by the "typical English". "They were robbed. It's a disgrace," Harris said with some venom. "They didn't play that well but they hadn't had any match practice for 11 weeks and you can understand that. They were robbed by this touch judge. The referee called on the touch judge and he said it's no try. Typical English and they were robbed."
The Lions squad had only just been announced days beforehand and Harris was vitriolic in his condemnation of the selectors. Only one Munster player had been picked for the squad.
"I can't understand how a team that got to the final of the Heineken Cup last year, they were robbed out of getting to the final this year, and they can only get one player on the Lions team. It's a disgrace. And you've got 10 Welsh who we've bottled time and time again. You have a whole Welsh back row and our back row tore them asunder. Wallace and Foley and Quinlan tore them asunder."
Harris particularly singled out Lions Selector Donal Lenihan and he said that he hoped the Lions were "trounced" because of the "unfair" lack of Munster players.
After his lengthy outburst, Harris almost immediately calmed down and with a smile on his face politely asked if myself and Owen would like to join himself and the crew for a few pints and a spot of lunch.
Being a Thursday afternoon and with a City Edition deadline of lunchtime we unfortunately had to decline and get back to the office. It would have been an honour to spend more time in the presence of the great actor, but deadlines have to be met.
Although I only spent about 10 minutes in the company of Richard Harris I found him to be extremely down to earth and certainly passionate about Limerick's most famous sport. He was very laid back when not expressing his opinions on recent rugby controversies and was extremely courteous and polite. I know that many other journalists in Limerick knew Harris well and are in a far better position to comment on the man, but I felt privileged to have met him and to have spoken with him, particularly in his home city, the city that spawned one of stage and screen's greatest and charismatic stars. It was a year-and-a-half ago when I spoke with him, but I was the last Limerick Leader journalist to interview him before his death. And instead of telling me to get lost, he did, as my boss had speculated, invite me for a drink.
Earl's farewell to most loveable LImerickman
THE death of Richard Harris has robbed us of one of the most loveable Limerickmen of his era, according to the former newsman who charted the star's career in the pages of the Limerick Leader.
Earl Connolly closely followed Richard Harris and his rise to fame in the Leader's entertainment pages, and was "greatly saddened" to learn of the death.
Mr Connolly, who went on to become the newspaper's advertising manager, remained a life-long enthusiast for the Limerickman's film and stage work.
"I saw all but three of his 80-odd films and had the pleasure of seeing him take London by storm in Gogol's one-man play, The Diary Of A Madman, which was directed by Lindsay Anderson," Mr Connolly said.
He recalled how Richard Harris began as a regular extra in the many plays staged locally by Anew McMaster, but that soon "hardly a month went by without a mention of Richard Harris, as a singer, a star of stage and screen and later an impresario".
Mr Connolly was one of many local people who felt frustration for the star when, in the mid-1960s, he came so close to the elusive Oscar for his role in Lindsay Anderson's This Sporting Life.
One of Mr Connolly's fondest memories of "Dickie" was attending the lavish London stage production of Camelot, later filmed by Warner Bros.
"Harris himself took me backstage and delighted in showing me the huge array of expensive costumes. At his request I tried on the famous chain-mail long-coat, which was extremely heavy É much too heavy for me," Mr Connolly recalled.
Mr Connolly, who said that following Mr Harris's career in the Limerick Leader had been a privilege, added that he hoped he had done justice to "the versatility of one of the most loveable Limerickmen of his era".
"Dickie Harris, as he was affectionately known to all his close friends, is fondly remembered, and it was with great sadness and regret that I heard of his death," Mr Connolly added.
